Skin whitening has been a major practice in the cosmetic industry. It interests many due to the ability to correct uneven skin pigment, treat pigmentation disorders, such as melasma, and provide an avenue to lighten natural skin pigmentation, which is thought to be aesthetically pleasing in a variety of cultures. For instance, in Asia the fastest growing markets include skin-whitening as it brings in billions of dollars annually. Current treatment options include chemicals (Smit et al., 2009), laser, and cryosurgery. While chemicals often are the simplest and most affordable treatment option, many chemicals are found to have adverse health effects including skin sensitivity, and cancers such as leukemia. For example, hydroquinone is a strong inhibitor of melanin (black pigment) production but was banned in Europe because of its link to leukemia and other cancer risks. Arbutin is a natural source of hydroquinone present in the leaf extracts of many kinds of berries. However, although natural, the safety of arbutin has not been well documented and the supply of arbutin is limited. Tretinoin, another proven effective skin whitener, conversely may lead to darkened skin pigmentation after time, and increases skin sensitivity to UVA and UVB rays. Other substitutes such as azelaic acid and vitamin C have limited whitening abilities and the effects diminish after a period of time.
One of the attributes of melanin is its production in melanocytes, which also form the cells that can become cancerous melanoma upon exposure to UV rays. Thus, it is beneficial to inhibit the growth of melanocytes, such as by using a skin-whitening compound that affects melanocytes, to slow or stop the proliferation of melanomas produced from melanocyte cells.
Thus, it is desirable to develop new skin whitening chemicals that act in different mechanistic pathways than the present therapeutic options in hopes of developing safer skin-whitening and melanin/melanoma treatment alternatives.